Google Maps Android and iOS app users will be able to more than just search with Google’s new ‘Explore’ feature that will help Canadians uncover their surroundings with the tap of a button.

According to Google Canada, App users will be able to use Explore to see different places and activities that adapt to each area and moment throughout their day, whether they’re searching for a new lunch spot, travelling to a new country or wondering what time their train is scheduled to arrive.

Indigo is making it quicker and easier for their customers to find stores, shop in-store or on-line or on the go, earn rewards, be social and save money by releasing the new Indigo Mobile App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The Edmonton, Alberta Go-Taxi app is currently available inHong Kong, Jersey Shore, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Florida and North Carolina

EDMONTON, AB, Sep 30, 2013/ Troy Media/ – When two Boston women, in two separate incidents, each hailed what they thought was a cab, the last thing they expected to happen was to be assaulted by the drivers. While reports so far indicate police are saying these incidents of “fake” cabs are unrelated, it begs the question: how safe is it to hail a cab?

The best way to ensure safety is to use a licensed cab company. While regulations vary by municipality, the cab, or taxi industry is generally highly regulated, and drivers are vetted, including criminal record checks, licensed, bonded and required to adhere to codes of conduct.

Even so, you need to ensure the actual cab is legit. In Boston for example, all licensed cabs, historically called Hackney Carriages, are approved by the Police Commissioner and have its identification medallion on the rear trunk. There are also other identifying decals specifically placed on the rear passenger door window and on the Plexiglas partition between driver and customer. The driver will also have his Hackney license displayed. READ MORE AT TROY MEDIA

Since many of us have opted to do online banking, having to run to the bank to physically deposit a cheque is actually quite a pain. So now, for the first time in Canada, members at select credit unions will be able to deposit cheques directly into their account. No matter where members are, they can use the camera on their iOS devices through Deposit Anywhere, a system for remote deposit capture provided by Central 1.

As the white smoke emerges from the chimneys of the Sistine Chapel and all eyes are on the Vatican as the election of a new Pope, the successor to Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI is on the minds of many, here are a few iOS apps that for lack of a better term are “Papal Inspired”.

If you’re a fan of comics, then you’ll be excited to know that for a very limited time, Marvel Comics in an unprecedented reader initiative is making available over 700 of their #1 issues free for download without any cost or obligation. But you’d better hurry it’s only for a a very short while and Marvel’s servers are already jammed up.

Coming this May, you won’t be able to get any further updates to iOS, Android or Adobe AIR version of TweetDeck. This Twitter tracking tool, used to track multiple accounts and even multiple topics in real time will be removed from whichever app store they are currently in.

At least every second day I get a security alert supposedly from my bank or some other service notifying me that something has gone awry and that I must sign in to fix the problem. More often than not there’s a link embedded in the email that I’m urged to click on immediately. Thus far, virtually all of them have been phishing expeditions by less than scrupulous individuals in an attempt to defraud me. However, one that arrived today from Evernote’s Operations and Security Team is real.

EDMONTON, AB, Jan. 23, 2013/ Troy Media/ – It is better to be the spider, or at least aware of the spider, than the fly on the worldwide web. Use caution on the internet to avoid being inter-netted and fear, good healthy fear that has been keeping us safe since we first walked upright, is the key.

But despite warnings about vulnerability issues, attitudes still seem to be lax when it comes to online security – even by those that have already been personally victimized.

Siber Systems, Inc., a leading developer of software productivity tools for consumers and businesses and maker of password manager RoboForm, discovered this dangerous behaviour in a wide-ranging study.

Of the over 700 adults surveyed in November and December 2012 in the U.S., and European countries, nearly 30 per cent have had a fraudulent experience with an online account. Of that number over half have had their email hacked; 23 per cent have had a security breach with online shopping and 29 per cent had been affected by a breach in a social media account. Sadly, an alarming number, 79.2 per cent continue to use a site linked to an account that had been compromised. Even more staggering is that 60 per cent of the participants are convinced that online companies are careless with regards to security of customers’ personal information with 57 per cent singling out Facebook as being their least trusted site.

People are not unaware of the problem; they just don’t seem to care. According to Bill Carey, VP of Marketing with Siber Systems, it’s just that there is a huge disconnect between a person’s perception of risk and what they’re willing to do to protect themselves and their valuable information. Just look at the volume of info added to Facebook each day.

In fact, more than half of the respondents (under the age of 45) feel that security is the responsibility of the operator. This seems short sighted if they don’t trust the operator to begin with. Nevertheless, it seems this “totally-not-my-problem” attitude is a major factor in computer users not improving their own personal security practices.

One way of reducing the probability of being compromised can be as simple as proper password practices and use of a password manager. This includes creating passwords that are not easy to guess, having longer passwords that may be harder to crack and different passwords for personal and business use. Even the proverbial “mother’s maiden name” commonly used for years in the banking industry as part of identification verification can easily be found by searching family tree sites or more popular social media sites.

Occasionally, that too, is not enough. Just look at what happened last June when a password file containing 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords were leaked and posted on a Russian hacker site.

And, even when companies do enhance their security, for example by adding two-step login verification, almost a quarter of the survey respondents balked at the idea and 13 per cent indicated that the process was too complicated. On the flip side, 42 per cent indicated they would be more inclined to trust a company with their personal information.

Users can also improve the security of their data by keeping their software updated and current – many companies regularly update or patch their software when vulnerabilities are discovered. The same goes for operating systems like Windows, all iterations, and Mac OS X.

It’s also a smart idea to use anti-virus protection and malware checkers from companies like Kaspersky, Intego and Symantec.

How many times does one need to be victimized before they will actually do anything about it? There’s no guarantee that taking these precautions will prevent a breach, but it should reduce the probability.

Greg Gazin is a Tech Columnist, Small Business and Technology Speaker and Senior Editor at Troy Media. He can be reached at Gadgetguy.CA on Twitter @gadgetgreg or you can find him on Empire Avenue at (e)GADGET1.

This article is FREE to use on your websites or in your publications. However, Troy Media, with a link to its web site, MUST be credited.

Probably much to everyone’s surprise, some of you will be able to watch the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics streamed live over the Internet. According to a post on Mashable, the chairman of NBC Sports acknowledged that their less than spectacular handling of the opening ceremonies led to the change of heart.